Hey all! Here's an update of a decidedly personal nature!
This Saturday, I'll be playing in the Terminal City Rollergirls Season Opener with my team, the Riot Girls! It's the highlight of 6 months of working long days in the shop and long nights on the track. Honestly, I'm wicked nervous - but I'm SO excited! I hope some of you can come out and join the party!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Dread Week!
Dread Week has come and gone, and as predicted by a realistic few I had no time to update the blog amongst the craziness that was last week! (It's the Terminal City RollerGirls Season Opener on Saturday night, so in addition to making some of the most rad dreads around I've been leaving the shop to go directly to practice. I have no expectations that practice will make perfect, but I'm counting on it making me less prone to falling on my face in front of 2,000 people.)
Here's what was keeping me so busy - a week's worth of Our Daily Dread!
A giant thanks to everyone who came in last week (including Sioban with her maintenance) you made a very, very busy week a ton of fun. And I'm totally not just saying that. Big time good times!
Here's what was keeping me so busy - a week's worth of Our Daily Dread!
You've already met Shanda ;)
This is Salome, who once again proves the point that fine hair is no obstacle to awesome locks!
Caitlyn (and her last "traditional" salon experience in a while) introduced me to Mrs. Brown's Boys, a seriously inappropriate Irish comedy that had me laughing so hard I snorted. In public. And yet I still really like her ;)
Kathryn's pre-lightened hair was so wicked to dread! I love blond locks, and I'm really stoked to see how they look come maintenance time! (She also brought a day's worth of 'Community' episodes, thus introducing me to the the reason I got nothing accomplished on my day off.)
A giant thanks to everyone who came in last week (including Sioban with her maintenance) you made a very, very busy week a ton of fun. And I'm totally not just saying that. Big time good times!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Our Daily Dread
Welcome to Dread Week! Yes, I know some of you insist on calling it Spring Break, but you get a big fat "whatever, dude" from me. I'm just going on what I've got on the books every day this week, and trust me - it's DREAD WEEK! Starting us off is Shanda and her 74 new locks!
Check back for more pics of my super fresh shop-started locks every day this week! As always, feel free to leave your questions in the comments below. If you're looking for dreads (or just a little advice) shoot me an email any time at scissorninja@gmail.com
Check back for more pics of my super fresh shop-started locks every day this week! As always, feel free to leave your questions in the comments below. If you're looking for dreads (or just a little advice) shoot me an email any time at scissorninja@gmail.com
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Check In!
It's been a month since we started Ingrid's dreads, and look at the difference already! They're really coming into their own, and thanks to her attention to maintenance they're already felting. It still makes me smile every time I compare fresh dreads to their slightly lived-in counterparts!
Ingrid had a few very small dreads at her hairline that she was concerned would unravel, so we rewove the new growth to lend support at the base (you can see the one in the first picture that's sticking out again!) but otherwise, they're good to wait until we get a bit more length at the roots. Other than that, we tidied up a few ends that were curling loose - a totally normal (though wicked frustrating) situation for new locks. With a little extra work incorporated into her normal maintenance routine I expect they'll be coming together nicely when next we meet!
Ingrid had a few very small dreads at her hairline that she was concerned would unravel, so we rewove the new growth to lend support at the base (you can see the one in the first picture that's sticking out again!) but otherwise, they're good to wait until we get a bit more length at the roots. Other than that, we tidied up a few ends that were curling loose - a totally normal (though wicked frustrating) situation for new locks. With a little extra work incorporated into her normal maintenance routine I expect they'll be coming together nicely when next we meet!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Nope, Not A Maintenance!
When folks call to get Dread Maintenance done, there are a few questions I ask because I need to determine if maintenance is truly what the client needs. A few of those include:
Are the dreads separate at the root, or joined?
Are the dreads felting together, or is there loose hair in unlocked sections?
Are we only dealing with the new growth at the roots, or do the dreads need weaving from root to end?
In the case of Zach, I was fairly certain that I'd be doing a Reconstruction as opposed to a regular Maintenance service. I'm generally asked to perform Reconstructions on newer, less mature locks that need work from root to tip. (Repair tends to be on more mature dreads that need lumps and whorls pulled in, or major corrections like reattachment done.) Zach had been putting elastics on his new dreads which left him with tiny hard knots at the ends, and large gaps of unlocked hair in the middle. (I totally get it - it seems like such an awesome idea to get your ends tightened up! But to continue with backcomb-and-wax method dreads you gotta be able to keep backcombing. It's a long process.) The hair that was dreading was coming together in flat 's' shapes, with large bubbles due to loose hair joining with neighboring locks. All in all, he wasn't wicked stoked.
The hardest thing to overcome in a Reconstruction is bad sectioning. Luckily, the stylist Zach saw took the time to make great sections that laid in a very nice bricklay pattern - no odd, random shapes biting into each other, no long lines running down his head. With that great base, it was so much easier to do my job! I separated the matting at the roots, and pulled apart the knots at the ends to re-backcomb the sections evenly. From there it's just weaving all that hair back together into a nice cylindrical shape. If he does his homework, Zach's dreads should be fully felted up in less time than it took for him to decide his original set needed help.
Usually a Reconstruction starts at about 4 hours, but Zach had such a good base of sectioning we managed to rock this out in 3. If you're unhappy with any aspect of your locks, or you're overwhelmed and aren't sure where to start, drop your question in the comments or shoot me an email at scissorninja@gmail.com.
Are the dreads separate at the root, or joined?
Are the dreads felting together, or is there loose hair in unlocked sections?
Are we only dealing with the new growth at the roots, or do the dreads need weaving from root to end?
In the case of Zach, I was fairly certain that I'd be doing a Reconstruction as opposed to a regular Maintenance service. I'm generally asked to perform Reconstructions on newer, less mature locks that need work from root to tip. (Repair tends to be on more mature dreads that need lumps and whorls pulled in, or major corrections like reattachment done.) Zach had been putting elastics on his new dreads which left him with tiny hard knots at the ends, and large gaps of unlocked hair in the middle. (I totally get it - it seems like such an awesome idea to get your ends tightened up! But to continue with backcomb-and-wax method dreads you gotta be able to keep backcombing. It's a long process.) The hair that was dreading was coming together in flat 's' shapes, with large bubbles due to loose hair joining with neighboring locks. All in all, he wasn't wicked stoked.
The hardest thing to overcome in a Reconstruction is bad sectioning. Luckily, the stylist Zach saw took the time to make great sections that laid in a very nice bricklay pattern - no odd, random shapes biting into each other, no long lines running down his head. With that great base, it was so much easier to do my job! I separated the matting at the roots, and pulled apart the knots at the ends to re-backcomb the sections evenly. From there it's just weaving all that hair back together into a nice cylindrical shape. If he does his homework, Zach's dreads should be fully felted up in less time than it took for him to decide his original set needed help.
Usually a Reconstruction starts at about 4 hours, but Zach had such a good base of sectioning we managed to rock this out in 3. If you're unhappy with any aspect of your locks, or you're overwhelmed and aren't sure where to start, drop your question in the comments or shoot me an email at scissorninja@gmail.com.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Checking In
Got an email from Jeff the other day, sending some love and some pictures. Here's how his shop-started locks are holding up 2 months later!
These are looking great! Jeff's obviously taking really good care of his new dreads, and I'm so glad he's liking them so much!
These are looking great! Jeff's obviously taking really good care of his new dreads, and I'm so glad he's liking them so much!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Our Daily Dread
Who says you have to dread your whole head? Dreadhawks are hawt!
Sergio ended up with about 40 dreads if I'm remembering correctly. That's a lot of locks for one strip down the middle of your head! When he shakes 'em out, you don't immediately notice that 2/3 of his head is shaved, that's how much hair this dude has.
I love love love how this turned out! Makes me want both my mohawk and my dreads back.
Sergio ended up with about 40 dreads if I'm remembering correctly. That's a lot of locks for one strip down the middle of your head! When he shakes 'em out, you don't immediately notice that 2/3 of his head is shaved, that's how much hair this dude has.
I love love love how this turned out! Makes me want both my mohawk and my dreads back.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
3 Month Update: Andrea
Andrea trekked down from Campbell River to get her locks maintained, and I thought to share a pic to show folks what Synth Dreads will look like after a few months in your hair. Back when I installed this set, I posted that these dreads will start to look more natural and blend in with natural locks. When they're first tied in, the synth hair still has a very high sheen (Look at my self control! No Charlie joke!) but you can see here that they really do mellow out with a little time. Here's the before and after:
Barring the pretty obvious turquoise (and new bright orange!) the brown dreads are pretty hard to pick out from her natural locks. Remember, 2/3 of these dreadlocks didn't grow out of her head! The ends of the natural coloured synth mimic the loose taper of her own existing locks, making the overall effect pretty darn sneaky! One of the nicest things about this service is that you only pay for making the Synth dreads once; Andrea's appointment this go round was half the time and half the price, and she'll be retying these locks for many more sessions to come!
Barring the pretty obvious turquoise (and new bright orange!) the brown dreads are pretty hard to pick out from her natural locks. Remember, 2/3 of these dreadlocks didn't grow out of her head! The ends of the natural coloured synth mimic the loose taper of her own existing locks, making the overall effect pretty darn sneaky! One of the nicest things about this service is that you only pay for making the Synth dreads once; Andrea's appointment this go round was half the time and half the price, and she'll be retying these locks for many more sessions to come!
Our Daily Dread
I wish I could say Theresa came all the way from Germany just to get her hair done at the shop, but I'm pretty sure there were other deciding factors involved. No matter, she came to visit me and that's what counts, right?
I know I say this all the time, but girl had hair to spare! I mean, look at that before picture! Really coarse and crazy dense. Usually coarse hair gives me more trouble, but Theresa's dreaded up easy as easy could be, and we kept most of her length as well. Took us a solid 8 hours, but the end result makes it all worthwhile. I hope she enjoys them!
I know I say this all the time, but girl had hair to spare! I mean, look at that before picture! Really coarse and crazy dense. Usually coarse hair gives me more trouble, but Theresa's dreaded up easy as easy could be, and we kept most of her length as well. Took us a solid 8 hours, but the end result makes it all worthwhile. I hope she enjoys them!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Our Daily Dread
I admit it. All last week, I was mentally prepping for Ingrid's dreadlock sesh on Thursday. I had sat down with her the week previous and discussed the game plan, and her plan included LOTS of locks! After seeing my post on Susan's dreads, she was ready to move forward on achieving her vision (and I was ready for another very late night! )
Like Susan, Ingrid's hair was a dream to dread - but by the first row I knew that the time was going to fly by a little faster on this one. We broke once for lunch, but otherwise powered our way through bottom-to-top in just about 8 and a half hours! Props to Ingrid for being so patient with a process that isn't necessarily painful, but isn't always so pleasant, either. Seriously, she managed to work! And read! Mind blowing!
We had a goal of approximately 150 dreads for Ingrid's final count, and we came damn close at 148. (This is me feeling kinda smug, actually.) She's got a lot of homework ahead of her to keep these dreads separate and knotting at the roots, but she's up for it! I'm really excited to see her in a few months for maintenance, and I'll keep you posted ;)
(These dreads were totally made possible by my buddy Chic (of Public Frenemy) who answered my desperate call for caffeine at hour 6.5. Thanks Chic!)
Like Susan, Ingrid's hair was a dream to dread - but by the first row I knew that the time was going to fly by a little faster on this one. We broke once for lunch, but otherwise powered our way through bottom-to-top in just about 8 and a half hours! Props to Ingrid for being so patient with a process that isn't necessarily painful, but isn't always so pleasant, either. Seriously, she managed to work! And read! Mind blowing!
We had a goal of approximately 150 dreads for Ingrid's final count, and we came damn close at 148. (This is me feeling kinda smug, actually.) She's got a lot of homework ahead of her to keep these dreads separate and knotting at the roots, but she's up for it! I'm really excited to see her in a few months for maintenance, and I'll keep you posted ;)
(These dreads were totally made possible by my buddy Chic (of Public Frenemy) who answered my desperate call for caffeine at hour 6.5. Thanks Chic!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)